By Reno Omokri
During the 2015 Presidential election campaign, then candidate Buhari said at various places that the Nigerian economy had been ruined by the alleged corruption of the Jonathan led Peoples Democratic Party administration which had also made a mess of the nation’s security situation and promised that if Nigerians elected him, he would provide the leadership that would address these challenges and reverse the alleged damages that the Goodluck government inflicted on Nigeria.
Thank God President Buhari said these things on camera and cannot deny them, as he has denied quite a few of the promises he freely made during the campaigns even though those promises were the basis of his social contract with Nigeria.
But what has been the reality after three years of Buhari in power?
The US has just released a report saying human rights abuses have increased under Buhari. Transparency International said corruption has increased. The Global Terrorism Index says insecurity has increased in Nigeria since 2015 and we are now the third most terrorized nation in the world. The World Economic Forum says Nigeria is the fifth most dangerous nation in the world. The International Monetary Fund say the Nigerian economy is worse now than in 2015 (as if we don’t already know).
So, what exactly has Buhari improved in three years besides his family and his cronies’ financial status? Has your life improved? Has he kept his campaign promises? Yet he has announced his reelection bid. He wants to come back. Come back to do what? President Buhari cannot run on his record because his record is bad. He cannot run on his promises, because he has a history of denying his promises.
The only option before President Buhari is to run on sentiments. And that is why President Buhari and the All Progressive Congress party machinery have put all their eggs in the blame it all on Jonathan and the PDP movement.
That is why their strategy is to go after all dissent until no one is willing to oppose them for fear of arrest on trumped up charges. That is why we are discussing about looters list while killers are on the rampage all over the country.
That is why the President and the Vice President spend their time making allegations instead of giving a report of their stewardship. A very good example of the over reliance on sentiments by this administration over actual governance is Benue State.
How could Governor Sam Ortom agree to be in a meeting where Buhari is endorsed for a second term a day after it was reported that herdsmen had killed two Catholic priests and fourteen of their parishioners in Benue? In today’s Nigeria, insecurity is so rampant that if you sleep and wake up alive without Boko Haram killing you, without herdsmen slaughtering you, without bandits shooting you and without government destroying your business, then you must testify in church/mosque for the miracle in your life. How could the APC machinery even go ahead with endorsing Buhari in Abuja while herdsmen are endorsing deaths in Benue?
It is because securing a second term for President Buhari is more important to the APC than securing the lives of Nigerians. It is also the reason why their so called looters list reads like a who is who of those they consider threats in the opposition. These guys are not prepared to even campaign for 2019. Their strategy is to prosecute for 2019. Take the case of Senator Dino Melaye.
Whether or not you like Dino, you must at least see that there is a hidden hand behind his ordeal with the police. For instance, I read the Nigerian Police Force’s statement on Dino Melaye’s escape saga and it was a detailed statement saying nothing. If only the Nigerian police can be as serious about going after enemies of Nigeria, like herdsmen, as they are with going after enemies of President Buhari, like Dasuki, Dino and Saraki. If only. Even the thugs who stole the Senate’s mace were not treated as brutally as Dino Melaye.
Herdsmen who kill Nigerians are treated better than Dino was. Maina was brought back to Nigeria and given armed guards (according to Junaid Mohammed), Dino was stopped from leaving Nigeria and maltreated by armed guards! People ask my thoughts on Dino’s arrest. This tale describes my thoughts. Three thieves went to rob. After robbing, they sent one to go and buy food.
He bought food and poisoned it so he could keep the loot for himself. On his return, his colleagues killed him and ate the food. Dino is one of the influencers that convinced Nigerians to reject then President Jonathan and elect incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari. He propagated the APC’s propaganda that de marketed Jonathan and projected Buhari as the Messiah. Dino and his co travelers brought a tiger to fight their enemies.
tiger did its job but as is the case with all tigers, it continued to thirst for flesh. Having killed all the enemies of its benefactors, the tiger is now turning on its own. Bola Tinubu should see what is being done to Saraki and Dino and be aware that a slave who sees his fellow slave buried in a shallow grave should not expect a befitting burial when his time comes. I can vividly remember Dino wearing a T-Shirt mocking Jonathan while he was President. I recall interviews he gave condemning that administration. Nothing happened to him. Why? Because Jonathan was a true democrat, a statesman who could be trusted to keep to his word.
While in office, President Jonathan had said “I am the most abused and insulted president in the world but when I leave office, you will all remember me for the total ‘freedom’ you enjoyed under my government.” With the benefit of hindsight, I am sure Dino now sees the truism of that statement. In fact, under Buhari, ‘repentant’ Boko Haram members are released while unrepentant government critics are arrested.
It is easier for you to be free in today’s Nigeria if you say you are a reformed terrorists than if you are a confirmed government critic. What has happened to Nigeria? To show you how justice works in Buhari’s Nigeria, consider that Senator Omo Agege, who is suspected of being behind the mace theft saga, is on APC’s National Convention Committee while Senator Shehu Sani has been invited by the police for questioning or that Senator Nwaoboshi is languishing in prison, while Babachir Lawal is luxuriating at home! It is for this reason that I congratulate former unwanted factional chairman of PDP, Ali Modu Sheriff, on his return to his natural habitat, APC. Sheriff is wise.
With allegations against him and a soon to be released looters list round the corner, he has carried the broom so his problems will passover! So, I say to Nigeria’s lazy youth, do not let down your guard now that #BBNaija is over. The most important eviction happens in February 2019. The man at Aso Rock has lost the challenge of fighting corruption, insecurity and improving the economy. It is time Nigeria has a new Head of House who can accept responsibility and not dish out blame!
Reno’s Nuggets
Popcorn is more valuable than corn, but before it pops, it must be heated. You are valuable. Don’t get upset when challenges heat you up. God intends to pop your corn and release your value. Don’t let the heat make you bitter.
It was intended to make you better. And don’t despair even if you are over 40. The rest of your life can be the best of your life. A fool at 40 isn’t a fool forever. The founder of KFC, Harland Sanders, was a failure who’d failed at almost everything in life until he used his talent for frying chicken to start up the business that became KFC. KFC was founded when he was 62! Keep on keeping on
#RenosNuggets
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